New Hires Bring Wealth of Outside Public Safety Experience to Albuquerque Police Department

Today, Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Mike Geier announced the hiring of three new leaders at APD who bring a wealth of outside experience to the Albuquerque Police Department. The new leaders will lend their expertise and talent to work on the Mayor’s public safety priorities.

Elizabeth Armijo will serve as the Deputy Chief of Staff at APD. Damon Martinez will serve as Chief Policy Advisor, and Leonard Nerbetski joins the team as manager of the Real Time Crime Center. These positions will strengthen the significant restructuring of APD that allows for more strategic leadership and a commitment to community policing.

“We are continuing to build a new APD at every level,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Yesterday that meant adding 29 front line officers. Today that means adding critical expertise to help manage what is becoming a more effective and community-focused APD.”

“Along with a focused mission on community policing and an emphasis of attacking crime from all sides, comes the need for people who bring a specific skill set and experience with them,” Chief Geier said. “This group of hires come with the experience that is needed at APD to effectively make our city safer.”

Elizabeth Armijo, Deputy Chief of Staff at APD

Elizabeth Armijo most recently served as Lieutenant with the New Mexico State Police in the division of Community Outreach and Public Affairs, where she managed response plans, coordinated with different law enforcement agencies and focused on community engagement. Armijo’s experience in law enforcement with an emphasis on community outreach will be invaluable as Deputy Chief of Staff at APD, where she will work on implementing initiatives that will focus on building trust with the community.

Damon Martinez, Chief Policy Advisor

Damon Martinez will use his experience as a former U.S. Attorney to oversee the development of strategic policies designed to improve APD’s ability to fight crime and ensure the successful prosecution of criminals. He will oversee policies related to the investigation and evidence collection for crimes against children; help with the modernization and management of the Scientific Evidence Laboratory; assist with development of training and career ladders for detectives; advise on APD’s process for responding to requests for public information; work with new leadership to enhance operations at the Real Time Crime Center; and utilize Project ECHO in community policing. Martinez will also serve as the department’s primary civilian liaison with the criminal justice system, including the District Attorney and state and federal courts, and help with legislative affairs as APD pursues state and federal resources, as well as changes to laws that will help with crime-fighting efforts.

Leonard Nerbetsk, Manager of the Real Time Crime Center

Leonard Nerbetski comes to Albuquerque from the New Jersey State Police where he served as Captain and was the Executive Officer of the New Jersey Regional Operations Intelligence Center. His expertise in crime analysis will help integrate smart policing at the Real Time Crime Center to help solve and prevent crimes. Nerbetski’s combination of police and civilian law enforcement experience will add a new dynamic to APD’s Real Time Crime Center. Leaders from the New York Police Department who visited the RTCC earlier this year recommended that APD recruit strong and experienced leaders to take make the RTCC more effective.